Past Lives
by DannyFan66
Summary: This is just a little story idea from my friend Peggy.  Think back to when Doc Robbins asked Gil if he'd every been close to marriage...


-1I hold no rights to anything CSI except to look upon them lovingly each Thursday night.

I have to give thanks to Peggy who keeps my writing on the up and up. She's my proofreader, my editor, and my friend. This story is completely her idea. I just wrote it down.

**Past Lives**

It seemed like it was going to be just another night in Vegas. The team had finished in the field and was back at the lab going over evidence. Brass tapped lightly on the doorframe before entering Gil's office and taking the seat in front of his friend's desk.

Gil looked up and removed his glasses as Brass sat down. "What can I do for you, Jim?"

"Well," Jim started just as his cell phone rang, "Hang on a minute." Gil waited as his friend took the call. "Ok, lets go. We've got a DB on the strip," Brass said rising from the chair.

"Jim, what did you want before?" Gil asked as he grabbed his kit and followed Jim out of his office.

Jim smiled briefly and responded, "It can wait 'til later."

Gil and Jim found Officer Mitchell at the scene and approached him. Jim asked, "What have we got here, Mitchell?"

"Pretty clear cut, Captain." Mitchell started to walk as he continued to explain. "All the witnesses tell the same story. Our vic, Cliff Edmunds of Vegas, has a rap sheet longer than your arm. He tried to snatch a lady's purse and thought he'd escape into traffic…he missed. Driver is Dorothy Garland of Kansas, 35, here on vacation. The purse was snatched from that lady over there with Torrence. I haven't talked to her, yet."

"Thanks, Mitchell. You can take off now. I'll stay with CSI," Jim said as Gil crossed to the victim to collect his evidence. "Hey Dave," Jim said as the junior coroner came onto the scene.

"Hi, Captain," David greeted Brass and went over to Grissom and the body. "Are you ready for me, Dr. Grissom?"

"Yes, David. Just having a look and waiting for you. Can you clear the body so I can collect?"

"Sure." David knelt down next to the victim. David finished with his ministrations quickly and nodded to Grissom.

"Time of death?" Grissom asked David.

David put his equipment away. "Body temp is 97.7 degrees. He hasn't been here long."

"Thanks, David." After another look and cursory check of the body and finding little evidence, Gil said, "Ok, David. You can take him." Then Gil joined Brass who was speaking with the lady whose purse had been snatched.

Brass began the introductions. "Gil, this is Nicole Franklin. She's here with her husband Bill and her two teenage sons, Al and Tom," Brass began the introductions.

"Mrs. Franklin, I'm Gil Grissom, with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. What exactly happened?"

"Gil?" The woman asked again.

"Yes, Gil Grissom, with the…"Gris tried to say again.

She stopped him, "Oh my heavens! Gil, I haven't seen you in years!"

"I'm sorry. Do we know each other?" Gil asked as Brass looked on in interest.

"I don't know how you could forget your first fiancée!" She retorted humorously.

Brass was very interested now and continued to listen intently.

"I…I…" Gil could barely continue for the looks on Brass and Mrs. Franklin's faces. He did his level best and forged ahead. "I'm really very sorry. I don't know what you're talking about. I've never been engaged."

Mrs. Franklin continued, "Well, sure you have. I must admit it was a very long time ago. But, you did give me your grandmother's ring, even though you did ask for it back the next day."

Brass's head spun around to face her so quickly that Gil thought it may fly right off. A small smile crept along his face as he realized… "I can't believe it. Nicole Daley." Gil barely had the name out of his mouth when three large men ran up to them.

"Honey, are you ok?" The tallest of the three asked her.

She answered with a smile, "Yes, Bill. I'm fine. Bill, I want you to meet an old friend of mine, Dr. Gil Grissom."

"Wow!" One of the boys blurted, "You're Dr. Grissom? You're the reason I'm here!"

"Gil, this is my son, Thomas. He's a senior in high school and wanted to meet you. We are here in part for your seminar next week at UNLV. Tom wants to be an entomologist."

Extending his hand, Gil said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Thomas. I'm always glad to meet a fellow bug enthusiast. You must be Nicole's husband," Gil said shaking the taller man's hand.

"Bill. It's nice to meet you Dr. Grissom. This is our son, Al. He still prefers girls to bugs, bit is also interested in your seminar."

Again, Gil extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Al. What's your interest in my seminar if not the bugs?" Gil asked the youngest of the men.

"I want to know about the crime investigating stuff. I want to be a detective some day," Al answered Gil, quietly.

Brass thought it a good time to speak up, "Excuse me, folks. Mrs. Franklin, I'll need you to answer a few questions and sign a few forms at the station so you can get your things back."

"Certainly, Captain Brass. May my family come with me?" Nicole asked.

Brass answered, "Sure. I'll have a squad car bring them. You can ride in with Gil and me."

"Thank you," Nicole said as she followed Gil and Brass back to the Denali. Brass asked Officer Torrence to bring Nicole's family back to the station.

Their visit to the station was a big thrill for Nicole's sons. Gil decided that while Nicole was filling out her paperwork, he would show the boys around the lab and his office. It was a short tour, but Thomas seemed most interested in the spicimens in Gil's office. Al preferred the DNA lab. Gil wasn't sure if it was because of the science or Mia, but he hoped it was the science.

After a few more minutes of catching up, Nicole and her family were ready to head back to their hotel. "Thanks, Gil, for everything. We'll see you next week at the seminar." She gave him a quick hug, and the Franklin family left.

Standing slightly down the hall from the scene Sara asked Brass as he approached, "Who was that with Grissom?"

"His former fiancée," Brass said without stopping, leaving Sara to absorb what he'd said.

The week passed quickly, and the day of the seminar was upon him. Gil was ready. He was always ready for seminars. He loved what he did and loved to share it with anyone willing to listen. He sat at the desk in his townhouse and thought about his past, school, and Nicole. She seemed so happy, so fulfilled. She and Bill have fou8r kids. Their daughter, Margaret, is a first grade teacher. Their oldest son, Bill Jr. is a first year med student. She had a good life. Gil thought more about his own life, more of his past, his previous seminars. Gil thought about _that_ seminar, where he first saw her. She'd come in early; sat in the front. She was breathtaking. So much so, he became lost in thought and found it hard to concentrate. Thank goodness for auto pilot. If pressed, Gil knew he could remember what he'd said at that seminar. But, when he thought back about it, the subject matter wasn't what came to mind.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Dr. Gil Grissom and this is "Entomology and Forensics: The Effective Use of The Entomological Timeline in Determining Time of Death." Gil moved through the material with expert precision and grace. In no time, the lecture part was completed, and it was time for Gil to face his audience and answer questions. He scanned the auditorium for Nicole and her family hoping one of the boys may have a question. He wasn't disappointed. Nicole's son Thomas, the future Entomologist, raised his hand high. "Yes, you have a question," Gil said pointing to Thomas.

"Yes. Dr. Grissom, is there ever a circumstance when the timeline set by the insects could be flawed?" Thomas asked succinctly.

"Very good question," Gil said. "Yes, there is. I faced one such incident a few years ago. The body was found tightly wrapped in a rug and plastic. At first the insect evidence led us to believe the victim had been dead 10 days. However, when a colleague and I ran an experiment using a dead pig, we discovered that it took the insects a full two days to get to the body because of the wrapping. So the victim had actually been dead for 12 days. This new evidence allowed us to completely refute the alibi of her estranged husband. Which, eventually, led to his confession and arrest." Gil finished his explanation with a small smile as he remembered his 'colleague'. "Are there anymore questions? Thank you all for attending, have a safe trip home." Gil started clearing up his notes as Nicole and her family joined him at the podium.

Thomas was the first to speak, "That was fantastic, Dr. G."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Tom. That was a great question, by the way." Gil said in return. "What did you think, Al?" Gil asked the younger boy.

"Well, I would have liked you to speak more about how the insects can actually help identify cause of death as well as time of death. But, for what it was, I liked it," Al said with all seriousness.

Gil smiled. "Maybe next time, Al. Maybe next time." It was the science he thought to himself. "How about I take you all to lunch?" Gil asked, not noticing the small group in the back of the auditorium.

Nicole answered, "Oh, sorry, Gil. This was our final stop before heading back to Mississippi. Our flight leaves in two hours."

"Mississippi?" Gil asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"That's my fault, Gil," Nicole's husband, Bill, said. "I took a job down there. Hattiesburg, Mississippi."

Gil smiled and asked, "What do you do, Bill?"

"I'm a chemist. I guess that's where Al gets it," Bill answered.

"Tom, too. I imagine," Gil said as he finished filling his briefcase.

Tom responded to that, "Nope, it was all Mom. Even when I was a kid, she'd scold me for even stepping on a bug. She'd carry spiders out to the hedges, coax flies back outside. Once, when I was ten years old, I squished a snail just because I could. I was grounded for a week."

"You always were a bit of a bug lover!" Gil said to Nicole with a smile.

"Yeah, well. I tried to use everything to teach, even bugs. I taught grammar school science," Nicole responded.

"Taught?" Gil asked.

"I retired a few years ago. A lot of the kids were already ahead of me. Now I'm a lady of leisure," Nicole answered.

"Honey," Bill interjected. "We'd better head out, or we'll never get through security in time for our flight." Shaking Gil's hand he finished, "Thank you, Gil. It was great to meet you. Look us up if you're ever in Hattiesburg."

Laughing, Gil said, "I hear they have a lot of bugs down there!"

After a few more niceties, Nicole and her family were gone. Gil turned to erase the white board he used during his seminar.

"I hear that colleague of yours is a vegetarian since that little experiment." Sara came down the stairs of the auditorium toward Gil.

Gil stiffened slightly at the sound of her voice. "I understand that's the case."

"Care to join your vegetarian colleague for lunch?" Sara said, grinning coyly. "I have a few questions."

Gil matched Sara's grin with his and said, "I'd love to. I have a few questions of my own."

It was just another night in Vegas. Most of the team was in the break room awaiting their leader and their assignments. Brass tapped lightly on the door of Gil's office, which was uncharacteristically closed. "Gil, are you in there?" he asked.

"Come in, Jim," Gil called form behind the door.

As Jim opened the door, he saw Gil behind his desk and Sara just standing up from the couch.

Gil looked up and removed his glasses as Brass came in. "What can I do for you, Jim?"

"Am I interrupting something?" Jim asked as he looked from Gil to Sara and back.

"Just Gil and his current fiancée," Sara said without stopping as she walked out of Gil's office, leaving Brass to absorb what she'd said.

The End


End file.
